Jet Provost T. Mk.3A XM453 of No.3 Flying Training School crashed near Ribblehead on the 21st November 1983

Laurence John Betts

Flight Lieutenant

Pilot

Injured

G. O. Riddett

Flight Lieutenant

Pilot

OK

The aircraft suffered a multiple bird strike while on a low level training flight. This caused the engine to loose power, following loss of power the two crew abandoned the aircraft, which then crashed into open moorland near Ribblehead and was destroyed by fire.

Above is the crash site, which shows no sign of the crash, despite it being only 25 years ago.The extent to which more modern sites have been cleared shows that the RAF policy changed somewhat from their wartime recovery policy.The site was marked by this single tiny piece, a blade aerial which is largely made of plastic so would have been missed by the clean up.